Written by Anyuon Liai
Race has been defined as “a concept that signifies and symbolises socio-political conflicts and interests in reference to different types of human bodies”.
Traditionally, Australian rural spaces have been perceived in the past as being predominantly white, with low numbers of non- white ethnic minorities. However, the recent years have witnessed initiatives championed by the federal government to encourage non-Anglo immigrants to settle in rural and remote communities.
It is argued that levels of tolerance and intolerance differ from place to place, and from one ethnic group to another. For instance, Indigenous and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities in rural and remote Australia face complex contextual issues due to systemic and enduring disadvantage attributed to (resulting in) direct and perceived racially based discrimination.
These issues have resulted in the emergence of negative factors that are mainly affecting experiences of diverse races in rural and remote regions. These disadvantages are shown in the inadequacy of social support, problems with authorities – including over-representation in prisons, correctional centres – as well as in the juvenile system and alcoholism.
Issues of fitting in, belonging and being accepted surface from time to time as being highlighted and reported in the media. For example, the repeated racially motivated verbal slurring and name calling against Indigenous and CALD background players in sporting grounds and school yards.
Adequate social policies and resources are needed to ensure that all Indigenous and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people embrace cultural safety as an integral aspect of service delivery in rural and remote regions. Cultural safety takes us beyond cultural awareness and acknowledgement of differences of addressing inequities witnessed by those affected because of differences.
It has been revealed that a lack of diversity education in workplace settings constitutes a significant barrier to providing culturally safe care and services. Evidence indicates that the existing diversity education in rural and remote areas propagates generalisations and assumptions about cultural diversity.
There are suggestions that services, such as health, aged care, disability, etc. in rural and remote regions, for instance, may benefit from incorporating cultural safety education into their orientation processes to ensure that all staff involved in delivering these services, particularly administrative staff, are more informed about issues pertaining to diversity.
References:
- https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/human-rights-rural-australians
- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-11/how-big-a-problem-is-racism-in-regional-and-urban-australia/11373214
- https://scholar.google.com.au/scholar?q=racism+in+rural+and+remote+areas&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart
- https://cjnr.archive.mcgill.ca/article/view/2069
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0743016712000861
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/000494410705100105]
